Teens dominate crowd at brutally slain boy's funeral in Marion

Images of victim Seath Tyler Jackson and the six people arrested in his death. Five of the six were sentenced in the death. A sixth was found not legally competent to stand trial. Those sentenced were accused of killing the 15-year-old and then burning his body to get rid of evidence of their crime, according to the Marion County Sheriff's Office.

Christine Show, Orlando Sentinel

SUMMERFIELD — More than 100 people filled the First Baptist Church of Summerfield Saturday afternoon to honor the life of Seath Tyler Jackson, the Marion County 15-year-old whose body was burned to ashes after his brutal slaying last week.

Most of them were young people about Seath's age who wore T-shirts with Seath's picture on the front and the numbers 352 on the back — a reference to the local telephone area code and an expression of unity among Seath's friends in the rural community 75 miles northwest of Orlando.

The church's pastor, Paul Howell, urged the silent crowd to focus on positive memories they have of Seath and not the horrific events that ended his life.

Five young people ages of 15 and 20 years old have been arrested in a plot to kill Seath, who was lured to a Summerfield home, then brutally beaten and shot. Marion sheriff's investigators say the group then burned his body and disposed of his remains in paint cans. The stepfather of two of the teens is accused of being an accessory after the fact in the killing.

"If we try to make sense of it in our own mind, we're going to go crazy," said Howell, who stood in front of a picture collage of Seath and a cross made of white flowers and red roses.

Howell encouraged Seath's friends and family members, some of whom embraced in tears, to focus on happier times of Seath's life. He would frequently participate in the church's activities, enjoying his time with other young church members, Howell said.

"He was just your typical teenager," he said.

It was clear throughout the 36-minute service that Seath's death deeply affected the youth in the community. Friends hugged outside the church. One young man shaved the words "R.I.P. Seath" on the back of his hair. Others carried white lilies, a typical flower present during Easter weekend, into the church.

"His mother said that the only fault he had was that he never saw a stray animal he didn't love," Howell said. "He was the same way with his friends."

According to investigators, the grim killing stemmed from Seath's break-up with girlfriend Amber Wright a few weeks earlier.

Responding to a text message from Amber, Seath went to Ely's home on Southeast 53rd Avenue in Summerfield on April 17. Once he arrived, according to deputies, Bargo, Hooper and Soto beat him, then Bargo shot him repeatedly with a 22-caliber revolver.

Investigators last week had not recovered all the paint cans containing the teen's charred remains. The young people were in jail, charged with first-degree murder.

At the funeral, Howell told Seath's loved ones not to try to make sense of the horrible situation.

"Remember the good things of Seath's life," he said. "Not the events of last Sunday."